Every ballplayer’s road to the big leagues has its unique twists and turns. Few have had more than that of right-handed pitcher Daniel Espino, who has finally arrived.
The Cleveland Guardians announced Friday that the RHP has been promoted from Triple-A Columbus.
Espino, the Guardians' first-round pick in 2019 and at one point the club’s top prospect, is now set to make the major league debut that nearly never happened.
Various injuries had kept Espino off the mound for nearly four whole seasons. But the 25-year-old never gave up, and his ability to overcome adversity has made this moment even more special.
“The sense of gratitude that I have, I can't even describe it. To me, it just feels like a team win,” Espino said Friday. "Being here now is kind of like a new chapter, and like whatever's thrown at me, I'm ready to attack it, and you know, give my best for this team and for this group of guys."
“It's a great story. I mean, it's one of perseverance and hard work and patience,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt told media Friday. "It's just a really cool day for all of us that we get to watch Daniel throw at some point this weekend."
Espino was also thankful to the Guardians for persevering right along with him.
“It speaks for itself that I'm able to sit here and talk to you, how everybody from the front office, and you know how they believed in me through those times," Espino said. "Now that I'm able to sit here and talk to you, it just speaks for itself how the patience and how, not only my resilience, but also their resilience that this day was going to come."
The Guardians open up their weekend series with the Detroit Tigers Friday at 7:10 p.m.
